Joe Allen Makes Statement on SPIDER-MAN Appearance on Flop Wall

[devonian.t]

Posted: 1/1/14 at 5:04am

Having lost more money than any other Broadway show, doesn't this seem an odd decision?

Claiming that it has added to the Broadway economy is surely like saying you've earned a salary from your credit card. Money hasn't been earned, it has been lost and will affect big and smaller investors.

[PlayItAgain]

Posted: 1/1/14 at 5:50am

yeah absolutely bull**** in my opinion regardless of how long its open, when a show loses 60 million and half a dozen people get seriously injured ITS A FLOP!

Updated On: 1/1/14 at 05:50 AM

[PalJoey]

Posted: 1/1/14 at 10:44am

Then open your own restaurant and put your own posters on the walls.

[Theater'sBestFriend]

Posted: 1/1/14 at 11:10am

"Having lost more money than any other Broadway show, doesn't this seem an odd decision?"

Yup.

[TheaterBoy7777]

Posted: 1/1/14 at 2:03pm

I agree with Joe Allen the amount of jobs the show provided for three years makes it unqualified for his flop wall. Its not like Scandalous or Carrie where those involved only were paid for weeks or months. I didn't like Spiderman but I understand his logic. If we went by money loss of a long running show then we would have to add the 42nd Street Revival, Shrek and many more to the Joe Allen wall.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 1/1/14 at 2:09pm

His wall, his call. Doesnt' change reality.

[Mattbrain]

Posted: 1/1/14 at 2:25pm

Hell, Kiss of the Spider Woman and Ragtime would've made the wall.

Have any Lincoln Center shows ever made the wall outta curiosity?

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 1/1/14 at 3:51pm

"Have any Lincoln Center shows ever made the wall outta curiosity?"

Being a non-profit (along with Roundabout and MTC) they are produced and funded in an entirely different way. Since there are no investors to be paid back there isn't the same designation of flop or hit (in terms of the financial outlook).

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 1/1/14 at 3:58pm

I don't understand anything about this thread.

[devonian.t]

Posted: 1/1/14 at 4:28pm

Well they issued a press release so I guess it's acceptable for us to have opinions on the quality/ validity of their reasoning.

Understand now?

And saying it's their wall so we can't have an opinion is a bit like saying Spiderman is the producers' show, so nobody else should have an opinion whether it's any good.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 1/1/14 at 4:40pm

Sure. It's valid to talk about anything. I just didn't know the context because there wasn't a link or explanation or anything. I hope 2014 brings a swift and satisfying resolution to this trying ordeal for you.

[Liza's Headband]

Posted: 1/1/14 at 4:42pm

Theaterboy, a flop is a flop is a flop. If it looks like a flop and smells like a flop, it's a flop. It lost millions of dollars. And that's a flop, my friend.

[jdrye222]

Posted: 1/1/14 at 4:44pm

I suspect it also has something to do with how distasteful it would be to have to be reminded of all the drama etc for theater people who go to the restaurant.
The wall is kind of a fun kitschy thing and having such a drama-laden poster on the wall isn't really in keeping with the fun vibe of what goes up there. I'd just as soon forget Spiderman ever happened, and I suspect Joe Allen's is the same way.

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 1/1/14 at 4:58pm

Nobody is going to forget that Spider Man happened. In addition to all of the events that unfolded around it (which WILL be talked about for years), you also have Glen Berger's book and the documentary (if that is allowed to ever see the light of day).

[jdrye222]

Posted: 1/1/14 at 5:04pm

Oh I agree, I didn't mean to say that it WILL be forgotten. But I suspect Joe Allen doesn't particular want it on their wall as a reminder. As I said, it doesn't really fit the form of poking fun in the same way most of the shows on that wall do.

[twinbelters]

Posted: 1/1/14 at 5:32pm

I think Spider-Man is a level of flop that the usual flop collectors don't want to own it. It doesn't even have an official cast album!

[dramamama611]

Posted: 1/1/14 at 6:00pm

The point is: whether they put it on their wall has no bearing on whether it is a flop or not. It is a flop. What kind of scintilating conversation were you hoping to have over this?

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 1/1/14 at 6:01pm

"It doesn't even have an official cast album!"

It doesn't?

What's this then?

http://www.amazon.com/Spider-Man-Turn-Bono-The-Edge/dp/B0042X90N4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1388617177&sr=8-1&keywords=spider+man+turn+off+the+dark

[theatreguy]

Posted: 1/1/14 at 6:08pm

Aren't most, if not all, of the show posters at Joe Allen for shows that were huge disasters AND closed very quickly? Spider-Man may be the financial flop ever, but it played to very full houses for at least the first year of it's run. Shows like Got Tu Go Disco and Rockabye Hamlet barely made it through 1 week.

[Liza's Headband]

Posted: 1/1/14 at 6:42pm

"Spider-Man may be the financial flop ever, but it played to very full houses for at least the first year of it's run. Shows like Got Tu Go Disco and Rockabye Hamlet barely made it through 1 week."

Unlike dollars and cents, there is no way of really measuring this. So we stick to the economics of it. The show failed to recoup its investment and therefore lost money, officially making it a 'flop.'

[theatreguy]

Posted: 1/1/14 at 6:50pm

Where did I say it isn't a flop?

[NewSynchopation]

Posted: 1/1/14 at 8:25pm

Anybody have a link to what everyone is talking about?

[chewy5000]

Posted: 1/1/14 at 8:31pm

There are at least two kinds of flop: the shows that stick around a while, but ultimately fail to recoup their investment, and the shows that seem to self destruct from their sheer awfulness and barely make it through opening night.

Now I know you all hate Spider-man with a passion, as if it is single handedly ruining Broadway, but the crowds have been eating it up, and it seems pretty clear that this is one of the former. I mean, its been running for three years!

[PalJoey]

Posted: 1/1/14 at 8:32pm

I suspect it also has something to do with how distasteful it would be to have to be reminded of all the drama etc for theater people who go to the restaurant.
The wall is kind of a fun kitschy thing and having such a drama-laden poster on the wall isn't really in keeping with the fun vibe of what goes up there. I'd just as soon forget Spiderman ever happened, and I suspect Joe Allen's is the same way.

I suspect you don't know Joe Allen.

[broadwayfever]

Posted: 1/1/14 at 11:29pm

Spiderman will be a perfect fit for Las Vegas. Not only do they have a much younger demographic there but Vegas shows specialize in high flying acts, so there shouldn't be any issues in that department.